Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Favorite Highlighters of the Moment

Right now I am LOVING my Stila highlighters. I go through phases where I uses certain products obsessively, and right now I can't seem to do my makeup without one of these:

Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer in Shade #1

Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder in Rose Gold

The Liquid Luminizer is a gorgeous silvery, off white color, that gives your skin a healthy glow. It really does give your skin a luminous, natural looking glow, without making you look shiny or greasy. The packaging is like nail lacquer, in that the product is to be brushed onto the skin. I like this much better than one large opening because I have better control of how much I apply.

This stuff is very strong and a little goes a long way. I do a thin swipe above my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose, then rub the product into the skin with my fingers. I find this gives the most natural look. Some days I even apply a tiny bit to my browbone to highlight, and it works perfectly! You can also mix in a tiny drop with your foundation or moisturizer to give you a nice glow to your entire face. Because of the size of the brush, it is easy to apply a lot, so you will have to play with it a couple times before you get it just right. Less is definitley more with this one. That is also a good thing because this bottle will last you for ages!!

In the swatch above, I did a slight blend, so you can see the color. If you blend thoroughly, the product does not appear so shiny and white. Shade #1 is great for skin tones like mine (around NC30 - NC35 in MAC) or lighter. If you are darker, then I recommend trying out Shade #3 which is a golden color.

I am also a fan of the Illuminating Finishing Powder in Rose Gold as a highlighter because it is a soft highlight and not at all glittery like the MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes. Highlights should enhance the natural curves of your fave, not draw attention to them like a disco ball. This shade is flattering for all skin tones and I think it is the most natural looking of all the shades offered.

One thing to remember with highlighters is to apply a little, and if you feel that nobody will notice it, that is probably all you need. When you look in a mirror or in sunlight, you should be able to tell you have applied it, but to others it should look like glowing, natural skin. I am going to do a post on where and how to apply highlighters so stay tuned for that!

I love the look of glowing skin. Looks like something I might want to try. I'm looking forward to your post on highlighting. I have a MAC MSF for highlighting but I haven't really used it much cause I'm not sure how much is to much. Your description above really helps and makes sense.